British Animation Awards – Best Commercial for Pilsner Urquell ‘Legends’

Recently I found myself in the surprising but pleasant position of picking up a BAA award for Best Commercial in the Public Vote Category for the Pilsner Urquell ‘Legends’ animation. After shambling on to the stage looking slightly stunned I was handed a beautiful paper sculpture of the BAA sheep atop a hill, all sealed inside a jar in a ship-in-a-bottle style, courtesy of artist/illustrator/animator/producer Yasmeen Ismail.

All the awards were hand made like this by other animators, illustrators and artists which was a really nice touch. Much better than a drop-forged metal gong on a teaky wooden base.

It’s a massive testament to the dedication and good humour of all the modellers, animators, compositors, assistants, technicians and tea-makers involved that we were able to keep going through the rough patches which were beyond our control (such as the excavation of the mains supply mid-build).